NEWS Cristo Rey Jesuit raises over $280,000 for student financial aid

HW Staff

May 4|11:42

Published on 04 May 2012

Cristo Rey Jesuit raised over $280,000 for student financial aid at its inaugural golf tournament on April 23. The event was held at Champions Golf Club and was chaired by Bill Smith, a Cristo Rey Jesuit board member and CEO of Russell & Smith Auto Group. Cooper Industries and Denham Capital served as premier course sponsors among the list of companies and individuals attending.

Cristo Rey Jesuit, a Catholic high school, combines personal responsibility, academic rigor and a corporate work-study program to empower students of all faiths from economically challenged families to reach their full potential. The school opened in August of 2009 in Southeast Houston. This year, Cristo Rey Jesuit is educating 260 freshmen, sophomore and junior students from the local neighborhood, as well as outer-lying, low-income areas.

All students participate in the Corporate Work-Study Program, where four students share one entry-level position at corporations across Houston. Each student works one full workday and attends school four long days per week. This program pays for more than 65 percent of the students’ tuition. This current academic year, the students earned $1.6 million towards their education.

Cristo Rey Jesuit is part of a larger network of 24 schools across the nation. Last year, 100 percent of the graduating seniors in the Cristo Rey Network were accepted into college.